After winning six-straight MVP, June Mar Fajardo has been dethroned by the do-it-all Barangay Ginebra guard Scottie Thompson.
Philippine Basketball Association
Thompson dethroned Fajardo as PBA MVP. Crowd favorite and Barangay Ginebra star Scottie Thompson was crowned as the Most Valuable Player on the Leo Awards night. San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo ended his streak, who won the top individual award for six straight seasons. The 28-year-old guard averaged 13.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.3 steals in 38.3 minutes in the 33 games he played last season.
đź“·: Tiebreaker Times / Peter Baltazar
PBA Awards
Most Valuable Player
Scottie Thompson of Barangay Ginebra
Mythical First Team
Scottie Thompson of Barangay Ginebra
Mikey Williams of TNT
Calvin Abueva of Magnolia
Arwin Santos of NorthPort
June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer
Mythical Second Team
Robert Bolick of NorthPort
CJ Perez of San Miguel Beer
Matthew Wright of Phoenix Super LPG
Ian Sangalang of Magnolia
Christian Standhardinger of Barangay Ginebra
All-Defensive Team
Chris Ross of San Miguel Beer
Jio Jalalon of Magnolia
Arwind Santos of NorthPort
Kelly Williams of TNT
Cliff Hodge of Meralco
Rookie of the Year
Mikey Williams of TNT
Most Improved Player
Juami Tiongson of Terrafirma
Sportsmanship Award
Kevin Alas of NLEX
TNT, RoS opened the new season with a win. Veteran Jayson Castro exploded in the fourth quarter—scoring 13 of his 16 points—in TNT’s opener in their title defense bid, 78-72 against Magnolia. Troy Rosario added 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Tropang Giga. Ian Sangalang tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Hotshots. Beau Belga hit a step-back three-pointer to spoil Converge’s debut and lift Rain or Shine to a 79-77 come-from-behind victory. The big men led the Elastopainters—Santi Santillan had 18 points and 9 rebounded while Belga scored 17 on 4-of-8 shooting behind the arc. Jeron Teng finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds in a losing effort.
UAAP Season 84
UST completed a three-peat in the men’s beach volleyball. The University of Santo Tomas won its sixth championship in the men’s beach volleyball, the most in the league, after a two-set victory against National University. Rancel Varga successfully defended his Most Valuable Player crown. Rookie of the Year Noel Kampton led the De La Salle University to win a bronze medal, its best-ever finish.
đź“·: Tiebreaker Times
Nisperos led Ateneo over Adamson. Faith Nisperos blasted for the Ateneo de Manila University after scoring season-high 31 points in a five-set thriller against the Adamson University. The victory put the Blue Eagles in a solo fourth spot after breaking the tie with the Lady Falcons.
UST snapped a 2-game skid. The University of Santo Tomas ended the two straight losses with a four-set victory over already-eliminated Far Eastern University. Eya Laure led the Tigresses with 19 points.
Belangel will turn pro. SJ Belangel will forego his two remaining seasons with the Ateneo de Manila Univerisity after accepting an offer to play for the Korean Basketball League club Daegu Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS).
Miscellaneous
Brickman, Kaohsiung won the inaugural T1 League Crown. Jason Brickman tallied 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists to lead Kaohsiung over Taichung in a 103-100 victory in Game 3 of the T1 League finals. The former won the first two games and completed the sweep. PBA veteran KG Canaleta and Jordan Heading played for Taichung.
More:
- Rafael Nadal overcame a chronic left foot injury to win the French Open.
- Iga Swiatek cruised to her second French Open title by dominating Coco Gauff.
- Minjee Lee of Australia dethroned Filipino-Japanese Yuka Saso after winning the 77th US Women’s Open.